Habeas Corpus Blog

Habeas Corpus - Second Circuit Preview - Week of Feb.14, 2011

No habeas cases to be heard this week.

I guess the television industry doesn't really value my opinion on legal tv shows.  Despite my insistence that they rarely are any good, they continue to churn out the legal tv shows. 

Here at midseason, I have seen advertisements for at least three new legal shows:  Harry's Law, Fairly Legal, and Franklin & Bash.

Harry's Law is a David Kelly show, who has put out many of the more popular legal shows.  So it could potentially have some entertainment value, and potentially stick around.  But I am going to follow the advice of my favorite television writer, Alan Sepinwall, on this one, and skip that show.  His bad review here.

Fairly Legal stars Sarah Shahi as an ex-lawyer turned mediator.  I like that actress, but I have no interest in the show.  I'll trust my wife's opinion on this one.  She watched half of one episode and said that she didn't quite get the point.  That's what I've read elsewhere.

The only one that I would even consider watching is Franklin & Bash.  And that's for the sole reason that it stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who seems to be having a mid-career renaissance playing attorneys.

. . . Actually, let me immediately take all of that back.  I just watched the preview for the show and I have no interest in watching it. But I will root for it for this reason -- big heads. 

I believe in the theory that it's hard to be a successful tv/movie actor without a big head.  And I mean that physically.  You need an oversized melon.  The original theory was proposed to me by a friend in law school who said, "the bigger the mouth, the better the chance for success."  But through more observation, I decided that a bigger head is necessary. 

It's far from a novel theory.  Just google search, "do actors need big heads" and there are many other people to have discussed it. 

In the end, it is not a coincidental thing.  It is logical - bigger heads are more of a presence on screen. 

So watch the preview for Franklin & Bash and you will see -- M-P Gosselaar and his co-star Breckin Meyer have big heads.  Actually, I'd vote for M-P's as a tad bigger.  It's surprising they haven't achieved more success.  Or maybe they have achieved just the right amount of success based on head-size.  You be the judge:

 

 

Habeas Corpus - Second Circuit Preview - Week of Jan. 31, 2011

No cases to be heard this week.

After I noted last week that an Academy Award had never been given to an actress who portrayed a lawyer on the big screen, I thought I'd look to see whether the same is true for the Emmy's. 

There is good news and bad news on that front.  The good news is that, back in 2008 and 2009, Glenn Close won two years in a row in the Lead Actress in a Drama category for playing lawyer Patty Hewes on Damages (a show I have never watched).

However, before that, nothing.  At least, going back to 1980.  I'll have to admit that, I am not familiar with several of the shows mentioned before 1980, and I didn't feel like doing the research for every show mentioned.  Actually, it was kind of amazing to me how my tv consciousness clearly began at a certain time.  I'd peg it at about 1978.  From that year on, I recognize every show for which there is a nominee (at least in this category). 

One thing to note: if you are an actress and you get nominated playing a police detective, you are probably going to win -- unless another woman gets nominated for playing a police detective on the same show.  It's crazy how many times an award has been given to an actress playing a detective.

More bad news in the Lead Actress in a Comedy category -- not a single one, at least going back to 1980. 

And I think the same thing can be said about Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie, except I wasn't too familiar with all of the movies/mini-series.  Nothing jumped out at me as a lawyer role, but I'll admit that one or two could possibly be lawyers.  Either way, still not much, if any.

Oh well.  I am going to include something from Damages (even though I have never watched it).  It's funny there are two "tribute" videos to Glenn Close in her role as the lawyer Patty Hewes.  One is overly cheesy and one is just odd.  I wanted to include them, but they were just too silly.  Instead, here is a video entitled: Why Glenn Close should win the Emmy.  Obviously, the voters agreed:

 

 

Habeas Corpus - Second Circuit Preview - Week of Sept. 13, 2010

No habeas cases to be heard this week.

With the new television season starting,* I thought I'd share my thoughts about legal tv shows.  And to be honest, I don't think much of them.

*It's tough to view any time of year as the start of the television season anymore, considering that shows premiere and tv seasons start pretty much all throughout the year at this point.  But September is traditionally known as the start of the season, so I'll abide by that continuing fiction for this post.

I recently came across this list of the so-called "Twenty-five greatest legal tv shows."  Let me just say, not many of them are great.  And you can be sure of that since number 10 is "Night Court."  I won't waste any time making any ironic arguments about how great "Night Court" is.  And after that show there is a rapid descent into some pretty awful stuff (as much as I love James Woods' appearances on family guy, Shark was in no way a watchable show.  It checks in at #14).

I don't know why legal tv shows are consistently so bad.  There have been so many of them, you'd think that they would get it right once in awhile.  I guess lawyers simply are not that interesting.

But I am not really being fair.  The top 9 aren't too bad.  I am not a fan of Law and Order, but it's hard to argue that it hasn't been one of the biggest tv shows of all time.

And of course there is the standard bearer - L.A. Law.  I have to admit, I didn't watch it when it was on.  Something about not being able to see Harry Hamlin as a lawyer after watching him so many times in Clash of the Titans.

 

Anyways, a couple of years ago, I decided to give in and watch some episodes in syndication.  I could see the attraction. It was like Melrose Place in a courtroom.  But it ended up feeling really, really dated, so I just had a hard time watching it.

Nevertheless, the theme song was, and remains, pretty spectacular.  Enjoy: